Desert Northern Hell

Honestly speaking, I like convinced people more than those with lukewarm positions. Of course, sometimes conviction turns into blindness. I could give you the names of some German politicians and probably you would understand what I mean. But I hope that nobody knows these assholes outside Germany. Moreover, I prefer to speak about a very convinced band; naturally Tsjuder. "Desert Northern Hell" embodies their musical convictions very well and their total dedication to the genre Norway stands for. So let's raise the blood-soaked flag of black metal while the music eats your soul and destroys any form of Christian value.

If you want to explain your girlfriend, your neighbour or your milkman the fascination of the Norwegian movement, you can make good use of this album. I don't say this is the best work in the history of black metal's once leading country. The classic albums of Mayhem, Immortal or Emperor still stand strong. Yet it is definitely true that Tsjuder's hailstorm unleashes the gigantic power of total destructiveness. Its single components are not innovative or second to none, but the result is simply mind-blowing. Firstly, the technical implementation must be described as perfect. I do not listen to a rumbling underground production, but the album does not sound polished, too. The album's title does not promise too much, hell is here. This dense, intense and terrifying sound builds the fundament for nine excellent tracks, even though I have no clue why Tsjuder join the countless formations that offer a (classic) Bathory song. "Sacrifice" is not bad, but it has just become a habit, or, to be more direct, a stale idea to play a song of early Quorthon (R.I.P.). However, the own compositions make up for this blemish. Just check out the eight minutes of "Mouth of Madness" with its flattening guitars, the morbid, Hellhammer-influenced aura and the well integrated breaks that increase the dynamic without hurting the song's coherence. Hatred creeps slowly out of its hole during this mainly mid-paced piece and every single note fits. Typical Norwegian black metal? Yes, but much better than many songs of Tsjuder's competitors.

The three-piece cannot hide its affinity for excessive song-length. "Morbid Lust", the closer, clocks in at eleven and a half minutes and do not even think about the option that it brings the apocalyptic inferno to a peaceful end. The restless double bass motivates the dudes to an excellent performance and grim bitterness shapes the song. Tsjuder do not concentrate on the icy leads that characterize the early works of some of their famous compatriots, but they share this passion for fateful melodies which are interspersed whenever it is necessary. To be honest, it happens rarely, but who wants to listen to a colourful bouquet of melodic sequences when it comes to black metal from the top of Europe? "Ghoul" also crosses the six-minutes-border and pummels the listener with a hectic configuration. Tsjuder make the impossible possible, their fanatic combination of murderous high velocity drums and well hidden melodies, created by rabid and insane riffs, works very well. In my humble opinion, the dudes from Oslo reach their musical summit with "Ghoul" and maybe it is a tiny problem of the other songs - with the exception of "Mouth of Madness" - that they do not develop a higher degree of individuality. However, this is no big deal, because each and every track deserves a 80 plus X percent evaluation.

Sometimes "Desert Northern Hell" sounds to me like the mature continuation of "Pure Holocaust" and fans of Setherial or Urgehal will enjoy this full-length as well. It's a masterpiece in terms of Scandinavian black metal, no more, no less and even Euronymous (R.I.P.) would applaud, if this sick brain called Greifi would not have criminally intervened. By the way, his murderous deed had nothing in common with conviction - this was just unbelievable bullshit, to say the least. Thank Satan, the spirit of dudes like Euronymous lives on through albums like Tsjuder's third work.

According to Wikipedia, deserts can be classified as either hot or cold deserts. A typical image when thinking of a desert is one that is rife with sand and sweltering heat, which would obviously be classified as a “hot” desert. A “cold” desert, in particular an ice cap desert, is one that perpetually hosts freezing temperatures and is practically devoid of life because of this. We are talking about cold deserts today to get into the proper mindset to discuss the near legendary “Desert Northern Hell” from Norway’s Tsjuder. “Desert Northern Hell” was originally released in 2004, which was a tumultuous period for black metal. Think back to the beginning of the new millennium: many of the legendary Norwegian black metal bands of the second wave were progressing in different directions. Mayhem released their militant opus “Grand Declaration of War” in 2000; Immortal continued adding epic elements to their music with “Sons of Northern Darkness” in 2002; Satyricon started down a path of adding more groove and Rock into the mix with “Volcano” in 2002; and Darkthrone released the passable yet musically stagnant “Hate Them” in 2003. In short, fans of Norwegian black metal were left wanting a no frills, head banging, straight up black metal attack.

Enter Tsjuder, comprised of Nag on vocals and bass, Draugluin on guitars and AntiChristian on drums. Tsjuder started life with two relatively unremarkable releases. Now these releases were decent and had Tsjuder’s trademark “no compromise” attitude, but something was missing, be it a certain cold and menacing atmosphere or just sheer determination to create a blasting and unrelenting homage to all of the things that made the second wave of black metal so great. Whatever the reasons were behind Tsjuder putting everything together on this album are irrelevant because what truly matters is that they did put everything together here. Everything that is embodied in second wave Norwegian black metal is here and crafted with enough conviction, determination and technical proficiency to stand out as one of the true classic second wave albums of the new millennium.

Starting the album off with breakneck speed, “Malignant Coronation” sets the tone for the rest of the album: blistering guitar riffs, blasting drums, thick, rampant bass lines (yes, it’s actually audible) and an extreme iciness to the overall presentation. Most of this album is fast as hell trem picking with blasting drum. The chaotic trem lines, although vicious and fast as hell, flesh themselves out as melodious swirling patterns. There are moments when the guitars slow down into minor key picking and the drums slow down to a steady rock beat. These slower minor key sections help to add a haunting touch to the already cold and icy atmosphere, calling to mind “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” era Mayhem. Sporadic moments of thrashing and groove-laden riffing are strewn about to give anyone’s neck a wrecking. “Ghoul” showcases a grooving riff during the chorus that builds into trem-laden intensity while “Mouth of Madness” switches between minor keys and a chugging, palm muted thrash fest. Even while the band is grooving the music is still undeniably icy and cold. Draugluin plays some pretty killer leads as well, shredding the fret board but never going into pretentious wankery. The vocals are relatively standard for black metal, more in line with the angry, pissed off approach than the shrieking style. I find they’re a pretty good mix of the “frog in throat” Abbath style and the angry-man style of Marduk. Everything culminates on “Morbid Lust”, an eleven minute opus that contains everything that makes this album great. The simple fact that the entire eleven minute run time is engaging is a testament to the growth that Tsjduer made in their songwriting abilities. The production is modern and relatively clean while still retaining a very second wave feel to it. “Desert Northern Hell” is fast paced black metal with no compromises: plain and simple.

Tsjuder’s “Desert Northern Hell” is exactly the giant proverbial swift-kick-in-the-ass that the Norwegian black metal scene needed in 2004. This is a blasting album that delivers everything a fan of second wave black metal could ever want: blistering guitar lines; break neck drumming; angry raspy vocals; and icy and haunting atmosphere. To add some more fuel to the fire, Tsjuder went and covered Bathory’s classic “Sacrifice” and utterly nailed the gritty and thrashy feel of the original. “Desert Northern Hell” should be considered among the classics of Norwegian black metal. If you like black metal and don’t own this yet, go buy it now… you won’t be disappointed.

Originally Written for The Metal Observer:
http://www.metal-observer.com/

This album is defined by Tsjuder's (pronounced Shoe-der) dogma of "no compromise" and there is definitely NO compromise. From the first second of "Malignant Coronation" to the last second of "Morbid Lust" this album kicks your fucking ass. This relentless black metal assault is nothing but 50 minutes of head-banging ass-kicking good times. Right off the bat I'm reminded of early Immortal, Darkthrone, and Mayhem, but with a much more modern production quality.

The guitars are clear and excellently played. There is no shortage of riffage in this album, that's for damn sure, and the guitars never get lost in a endless drone. There is precise tremolo picking, wonderful sweeps, and excellent technical work over all. There is definitely some punk and thrash influences in the guitars here, which also lend to the earlier Darkthrone comparison I made. Many of the songs have sections with high, fast, discordant riffs that are very reminiscent of early Mayhem and bring back wonderful feelings related to that era of black metal. Overall, nothing bad to say about the guitars at all, grade A black metal guitar work. (Bass is pretty much the same, and I'm happy that you can actually hear it [due to the decent production quality])

Vocals on this album aren't really anything extraordinary, though they are executed flawlessly. The voice of the singer is somewhere between Abbath(Immortal) and Hoest(Taake) and the vocals work perfectly with the riffs and passages.

Drumming is fast and precise and basically shares a lot of the same traits as the guitars in terms of influences.

Overall the album is a non-stop onslaught and if you like aggressive music period you should find something you can rock out to here. For me it's a spot-on black metal release with almost 0 room for criticism, I simply can't find anything to bitch about here. Definitely recommending this one, it'll be staying in my CD player for a while, that's for fucking sure!

Some things to note are the wonderful progression of "Mouth of Madness", the super thrash-punk feeling "Sacrifice", and the riffs throughout the middle of "Morbid Lust" which to me were very reminiscent of "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas"-era Mayhem.

If ever there was an album to define a genre, it most certainly is Desert Northern Hell. Every single aspect is 100% pure Norwegian black metal at its absolute zenith, no iffs, ands, or buts.

The atmosphere: The overall feel of this album is all-out mercilessness. The guitars are always blacker than darkness itself, the drums hammer away in an artfully crude manner, the bass is inconsistently audible, and the vocals evil and cutting as they come. This all creates a very "black" feel, for lack of a better word. Battles in the North, what I consider to be black metal's other defining album comes off as grim and cold. This is definitely a different, altogether more evil kind of black metal. This evil feel is really the soul of the album, everything is done to serve this feel, and this feel does so much more than any technical instrument could do on its own.

Machine-gun quick tempo changes, all executed flawlessly keep the pace of this animal interesting. Just as one slips into a comfortable groove, Wham! A hailstorm of blasting drums and cutting guitars jar the listener awake. Song structure and length vary greatly, which also helps this album stay out of the mud, so to speak.

Technically, I would be hard-pressed to find any errors in the album. Every transition is seamless, every note clear and true. The tremolo picking is moderated nicely, and is always executed flawlessly, along with every perfect blastbeat. The bass when audible adds muscle mass to the otherwise cutting and lithe sound. This conditional use of bass is great because the album never sounds too beefy, like death metal, but never gets too wafer thin, like far too much black metal. Crust and punk influences are nonexistent here, which keeps the album pure.

Standout tracks would have to be Possessed, and above all, Unholy Paragon. The riffs/tempo changes in these two almost hospitalized me with neck injuries, and I NEVER headbang to black metal. A previous reviewer mentioned the listener's jaw smashing to the floor, and mine did just this. Unholy paragon will blow you away. My one grievance with this album is the Bathory cover. I don't dislike how they covered it, I just don't care much for the song, and I feel like a cover version kind of spoils the absolutely magical ingenuity of the rest of the album.

I would recommend this album to anyone who loves black metal, because this is black metal at its most unhallowed epitome, begrimed and spewing distilled hatred. I would recommend this to anyone who hates black metal because, even if you can't bring yourself to like the overall sound/vibe, I promise you will find at least two jaw-dropping moments. Finally, I would recommend this to anyone new to black metal. This album is exactly what satanic black metal should sound like - sharp as a razor, and blasting as a machine gun. It does not have the cold/grim feel of Immortal, Svartahrid, etc.. Instead it is just black. It is an absolute scimitar of an album.

For some reason this album makes me think of “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas II”. I find this to be odd. Mostly because no such album actually exists. Well, maybe it does. It’s just called “Desert Northern Hell”. “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” would be a nearly impossible record to emulate, especially ten years later. Tsjuder come close here; only this time with a lot less atmosphere, but also a lot more ferocity.

Had Øystein Aarseth never been killed, perhaps this is the kind of album he would have written. That is a complement to what Tsjuder has done here. Aarseth always kept Mayhem interesting by playing lots of different [kinds of] riffs. Well, that’s basically what Draugluin has done on “Desert Northern Hell”. There’s a lot of your standard Norwegian black metal style riffs (the opening riffs to both “Malignant Coronation” and “Possessed” are good examples). There’s also a lot of riffs that have such wicked hooks (2:33 in “Lord of Swords”, 4:27 in “Mouth of Madness”), you'll be picking your jaw up off of the floor - hopefully it doesn't break as it smashes into the floor. All in all, the guitars are a major reason behind this album’s success. Nasty buzzing riffs will always steer you in the right direction.

Nag’s vocals are right on par with the guitars. His shrieks, he howls, and everything has a bite to it. Nocturno Culto isn't a bad comparison, though the two sound different. Their delivery is similar though. Nag’s bass playing is neither here, nor there. Most of the time it is lost within the mix that is heavy on the treble, and not so much on the bass. It comes through from time to time, but it really doesn't do anything worth noting - just nice solid playing.

Anti Christian’s drumming is pretty enjoyable. He surely gives us our fair share of blast beats. However, there’s a lot of other stuff being done here. Most significantly, there are many drum parts that compliment the more hook-oriented guitars parts; this puts the gross hookage amount at an alarming level. And when I say alarming, I mean you might headbang so hard that head just literally falls off. Trust me though, it is worth it.

This album makes me think of “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas II” not because it sounds like it (in fact I would say that “Morbid Lust” is the only song that has any real resemblance). It makes me think of it because, like Euronymous did with “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas”, the album is built on and depends on almost hidden (subtle) guitar riffs. However, once you really take notice of the guitars, you'll wonder how you ever missed them (2:27 in “Possessed” is a show-stopper).

For most, my comparison to the infamous Mayhem album will make little sense. However, if you take one thing from this review, have it be this: if you like barbed-wire riffs with your black metal, then “Desert Northern Hell” is a outrageously worthy album. It is unfortunate that the band split-up following this release, it would have interesting to see where they would have gone next.

Coming amidst the ever growing Norwegian black metal scene, Tsjuder have surely contributed a significant amount if not a lot to the same. What we have here is a perfectly crafted hell with fast and furious tempos blended with trademark black metal riffage. The guitars are nothing short of excellent and are wonderfully complemented by the vocals which I feel are a hallmark of this album. The vocals are truly grim and full of hate, remind of Darkthrone at times but only fitted over a much better production. The production is top-notch as per the black metal standards.

The most enjoyable part of the album being the band's ability to keep the listener hooked to the song. What they do perfectly, is to maintain the interest. Just when you feel they are starting to get a bit generic, they come out with a riff which catches you by neck and promises not to leave you till it has done its work. There are no weak points here. The drums are good, competent and up to the task. And really what a shame, this band had to split.

Anyways coming to the highlights, there are many of them. The journey to hell begins with 'Malignant Coronation' which straightway sets up the stage for the things to come. Starting off with a furious riff, the song breaks into a trademark black metal slow catchy riff. 'Ghoul' is up next which in this album be the pummeling tool to polish off the hellish atmosphere created. Some great riffs here and nice song structure too. A finger tapped solo adds some more juice. Easily one of the best tracks of the album. With 'Possessed' I just felt whether there would be some relief they would offer here. But No, this track only takes things forward and you find yourself amidst chaos of the highest order and the piercing vocals. And just as I stated earlier amidst the chaos will come a riff which immediately take you a state of frenzy.

'Lord of Swords' is another good track with nice vocal patterns and riffs on display. 'Mouth of Madness' promises to be another great track with a nice blend of fast and slow parts. At 2.04 you'll be straightaway thrown into a head banging frenzy. 'Unholy Paragon' has my favorite moments of the album. The riffing and drumming at 3.35 is pure hell trust me. And then the song breaks into slow chanting parts and just after that comes the drums which sound so eargasmic. 'Sacrifice (Bathory cover)' is done nicely. Quorthon will be a happy zombie. The album closes with the epic 'Morbid Lust' which pretty much summarizes the whole album and the journey thus far.

I have been listening to this for quite some time now and it never seems to gets old unlike some other good black metal releases. Strongly recommended to the black metal fan community.

Stand out tracks:
Ghoul
Helvete
Mouth of Madness
Unholy Paragon
Morbid Lust

From the moment this record begins, it’s blatantly obvious where Tsjuder’s influences lie; take Immortal’s first two full-lengths, mix them together, give it a thoroughly modern production, and you’ve got ‘Desert Northern Hell’.
However, there’s more going on here than just Immortal worship. Interesting and diverse song structures, and frequent variations in the riffs and tempos raise this record far above average. There is a healthy balance between all out speed, mid-paced thrash, and slower, more atmospheric sections. The musicianship throughout is impressive, and the band performs as a very tight unit.
The only real letdown is the vocals. While they admittedly suit the music, they are disappointingly generic, and nothing that we haven’t heard countless times before. Think Natterfrost, Abbath, and Shagrath (on his early records). On the track ‘Mouth Of Madness’, vocal duties are handed over to the guitarist, but the change is barely noticeable, and seems fairly pointless.
This is a thoroughly Norwegian record, right down to the booklet filled with photos of the band, complete with corpse paint and weapons, running around in snowy forests. As such, fans of early 90s black metal will lap this up, but anyone who feels that that era was overrated should stay well away from this record.

No one can say they weren't warned: as the blistering opener "Malignant Coronation" draws to a close, vocalist Nag channels the big man Himself and barks out "prepare for desecration!". So if you stuck around to get your ass kicked (and you WILL), you have only yourself to blame.
Over the next 50 minutes or so, Tsjuder show no mercy. From the dizzying maelstrom guitars of "Ghoul" to the last second of the relentless, desperate pounding of "Morbid Lust", Tsjuder punish the hell out of your ears (in a good way, of course). Soundwise, I find it difficult to pin down any clean-cut points of reference, the usual Darkthrone/Burzum/Emperor comparisons being somewhat inadequate. They're not depressive drone-merchants, nor do they have the schizophrenic attention span of At The Gates. They're simply fast, crushing, and appreciative of HEALTHY amounts of melody. In terms of lyrical themes, it's pretty much what you'd expect: satan, satan, snow, insanity, and more satan. But the writing is tight, and definitly a cut above average. Best of all, and rare for BM, they sound like they might just enjoy what they do.
It's hard to pick favorites with such a solid album, but "Possessed" and "Mouth of Madness" are total standouts for me. The latter especially, since it starts out fairly trashy (garbage-lid drums, nice bit of feedback) and then breaks out into this horrifically amazing running melody. By the time Nag croaks out "cold... horror/as sanity declines", you'll be useless and drooling in the corner.
To recap, Tsjuder have all the bases covered and then some, future BM bands will be killing each other for the honor of covering them, and if you don't have this already, sell a younger sibling to science and order it.